Passage One

One’s life

Among the vast number of men who have thought fit to write down the history of their
own lives, three or four have achieved masterpieces which stand out preeminently:
Saint Augustine in his Confessions, Samuel Pepys in his Diary, Rousseau in his
Confessions. It is among these extraordinary documents, and unsurpassed by any
of them, that the autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini takes its place. The life of
himself which Cellini wrote was due to other motives than those which produced its
chief competitors for first place in its class. St. Augustine's aim was religious and
didactic, Pepys noted down in his diary the daily events of his life for his sole
satisfaction and with no intention that any one should read the cipher in which they
were recorded. But Cellini wrote that the world might know, after he was dead, what
a fellow he had been; what great things he had attempted, and against what odds
he had carried them through. All men, he held, whatever be their condition, who have
done anything of merit, or which verily has a semblance of merit, if so be they are
men of truth and good repute, should write the tale of their life with their own hand.
That he had done many things of merit, he had no manner of doubt. His repute was
great in his day, and perhaps good in the sense in which he meant goodness; as to
whether he was a man of truth, there is still dispute among scholars.

Of some misrepresentations, some suppressions of damaging facts, there seems to

be evidence only too good-a man with Cellini's passion for proving himself in the
right could hardly have avoided being guilty of such; but of the general
trustworthiness of his record, of the kind of man he was and the kind of life he led,
there is no reasonable doubt.

The period covered by the autobiography is from Cellini's birth in 1500 to 1562; the
scene is mainly in Italy and France. Of the great events of the time, the time of the
Reformation and the Counter-Reformation, of the strife of Pope and Emperor and
King, we get only glimpses. The leaders in these events appear in the foreground of
the picture only when they come into personal relations with the hero; and then not
mainly as statesmen or warriors, but as connoisseurs and patrons of art. Such an
event as the Sack of Rome is described because Benvenuto himself fought in it.

Much more complete is the view he gives of the artistic life of the time. It was the
age of Michelangelo, and in the throng of great artists which then filled the Italian
cities, Cellini was no inconsiderable figure. Michelangelo himself he knew and
adored. Nowhere can we gain a better idea than in this book of the passionate
enthusiasm for the creation of beauty which has bestowed upon the Italy of the
Renaissance its greatest glory.

Very vivid, too, is the impression we receive of the social life of the sixteenth century;
of its violence and licentiousness, of its zeal for fine craftsmanship, of its abounding
vitality, its versatility and its idealism. For Cellini himself is an epitome of that century.
This man who tells here the story of his life was a murderer and a braggart, insolent,
sensual, inordinately proud and passionate; but he was also a worker in gold and
silver, rejoicing in delicate chasing and subtle modelling of precious surfaces; a
sculptor and a musician; and, as all who read his book must testify, a great master
of narrative. Keen as was Benvenuto's interest in himself, and much as he loved to
dwell on the splendor of his exploits and achievements, he had little idea that
centuries after his death he would live again, fourteen, while he went about his work.

The autobiography was composed between 1558 and 1566, but it brings the record
down only to 1562. The remainder of Cellini's life seems to have been somewhat
more peaceful. He died at Florence, May 13, 1571, and was buried in The Church
of the Annunziata in that city.

fuente: gutenberg.org